Ryan Helsley is staying in Baltimore.
After an injury-shortened 2026 season, the right-hander has decided to exercise his $14 million player option for 2027, a source confirmed Thursday. The Orioles have not announced the move.
It’s a sensible call for Helsley, who didn’t exactly have the kind of season that would have set him up for a stronger trip back into free agency. The 32-year-old posted a 4.11 ERA with eight saves in 17 games for Baltimore, then spent two separate stints on the injured list because of right elbow issues.
His last appearance came June 27. He had been nearing a return in September, but the Orioles shut him down once they were out of postseason contention. The expectation now is that he’ll be ready to go for the start of Spring Training 2027.
Baltimore signed Helsley to a two-year, $28 million deal last Dec. 1, and that contract included the opt-out after year one. The idea was clear from the start: bring in Helsley to handle the ninth inning while right-hander Félix Bautista worked back from right shoulder surgery and missed most of the 2026 season.
Now the Orioles could have both arms at the back end of the bullpen in 2027. Bautista returned late this past season and made two appearances, giving Baltimore a pair of experienced closers to sort through.
That leaves one obvious question hanging over the bullpen: who gets the closing job?
Bautista has been the Orioles’ closer for most of his four-year MLB career, but health has been the obstacle. He has appeared in only 37 big league games over the last three seasons, including a 2024 season wiped out by Tommy John surgery. When he has been on the mound, though, he’s been dominant, with a 2.15 ERA and 67 saves in 158 career appearances.
Helsley has plenty of closing experience of his own. Over his eight-year MLB career, he’s filled that role for much of the time, with previous stops in St.
Louis from 2019-25 and with the Mets in ’25. He also has experience working as a setup man, including after his move to New York at the 2025 Trade Deadline.
For Baltimore, this is the kind of decision teams would rather have than the alternative. If Helsley and Bautista are both healthy and anywhere near their best, the Orioles’ bullpen is going to look a lot stronger in 2027.
In Other News...
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Ryan Helsley's Orioles Return Sets Up A Bullpen Question
Ryan Helsley is set to remain in Baltimore, giving the Orioles another power arm to factor into what could be a much deeper bullpen next season. The club expects Helsley to join Flix Bautista in the late-inning mix, a pairing that, on paper, gives the Orioles a far different look than they had for much of this past year.
The bigger question is how much of Helsley the Orioles can count on after a season interrupted by right elbow inflammation and repeated trips to the injured list. He was limited to 17 games, so while the return is welcome, Baltimore still has to find out whether it is getting a stabilizing bridge piece or simply adding another health-related variable to its relief plans. [Read more 🡒]